India lagging behind in global health indices average: WHO study

A recent statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals India has to go a long way to catch up with even the global averages in providing basic healthcare services, forget the healthcare standards achieved by developed countries.

Despite the public-private achievements in healthcare, life expectancy of Indians are still lower than the global averages - 68.3 years - against global average of 71.4. Indian men live an average 66.9 years, whereas women live 69.9 years. Global average is 69.1 for males and 73.8 years for women respectively, says the WHO Global Health Observatory (GHO) data published recently.

Despite the advancement in healthcare sector in India, about 167 out of one lakh people in India has TB, whereas the global average is 133, mainly because of high rate of prevalence in poor African countries.

The probability of dying between 30 and 70 from any cardio vascular diseases, cancer, diabetes etc. is also very high for Indians, at 26.2 percent, whereas the global average is 19.4.

Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution per one lakh population is 130, compared to the global average of 91.7. Mortality rate attributed to exposure to unsafe WASH services for the same is 27.4, when compared to the global average of 12.4. Smilarly, mortality rate from unintentional poisoning is 3.2, when compared to the global average of 2.7.

Indians also have a high suicide rate - 20.9 per one lakh population; the global average is only 11.4.

Total per capita consumption of alcohol among above 15 years of age in India is 4.6 litres against global average of 6.3 litres. Smokers above the age of 15 are 20.4 per cent in India and 1.9 per cent among females, though WHO has not published a global average of the same.

However, India can take pride in some other health indices when compared to global averages.

Thanks to the jump in public and private healthcare infrastructure, skilled health professionals' density per one lakh population is 24.1, almost near the global average of 25 and average of 13 International Health Regulations core capacity scores for India is 94, much above the global average of 73. Maternal mortality rate in the country has also come down to 174 per one lakh births, whereas the global average is still 216. The proportion of birth attended by skilled health personnel in India is 74 percent (73 per cent global average).